A demon of great mystical power, Nightmare usually targets his victims while they sleep by drawing their psyches into his Nightmare World, the substance and contents of which he can manipulate and reshape at will. He can trap psyches indefinitely but usually only torments souls temporarily lest he permanently deplete the psychic energies he consumes. While inside his own realm, Nightmare is virtually omnipotent; however, he is less powerful and more vulnerable when he manifests outside his kingdom, and was particularly diminished when he assumed mortal form as Edvard Haberdash.

Abilities

Unrevealed

Weapons

None

Paraphernalia

Nightmare's many servants include a vast array of nightmare creatures, notably his demonic horned steed Dreamstalker.

Ruler of his own Nightmare World within the Dream Dimension (linked to and shaped by humanity's collective unconscious), Nightmare is a Class Three demon who influences the dreams of living beings as they sleep, feeding on humanity's psychic energies in particular. Nightmare occasionally singles out souls for special tortures, sometimes trapping their dream-selves in his realm. He has even sought to absorb the entire waking world into his own realm, though never with lasting success. Humanity's chief defender against Nightmare is the sorcerer Doctor Strange, who has fought the demon so often that Strange routinely casts a protective spell on himself before sleeping.

Eight hundred years ago, Nightmare impregnated the demon succubus Zhilla Char; she died giving birth to their daughter, the Dreamqueen, who now rules her own nightmarish pocket dimension. For a time, Nightmare courted horror movie actress Roxanne in the mortal guise of Edvard Haberdash, helping her longtime director Lucre establish Club Fear where patrons paid to be terrified. "Edvard" eventually caused Lucre's demise, and Roxanne forced herself to keep dating the abusive, possessive, inhuman "Edvard" since she feared for her own safety and that of the world in the face of a wrathful Nightmare's power. During a recent terror attack, Nightmare exploited humanity's desire that it was just a dream, gaining a foothold on an earthly island where he can manipulate reality at whim. On Nightmare Island, the Hulk encountered and named Daydream, a daughter Nightmare had sired with a mortal woman in a deep sleep, who turned against her father and chose to dwell amongst humanity. Nightmare's natural enemies include the denizen Dusk of the hostile adjacent Realm of Madness, as well as the Gulgol, a monster who never sleeps.